Greenville, S.C. – Guard
Nick Anderson scored 17 of his season-high 24 points in the first half and
Cooper Bowser went 8-for-8 from the field to add a career-best 21 points to help Furman outlast Southern Conference-leading Samford, 72-70, Wednesday night in front of a national television audience on CBS Sports Network from Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
The Paladins never trailed en route to improving to 17-5 overall and 5-4 in the SoCon. Samford slipped to 17-5 overall and 7-2 in league play.
Furman built a 51-39 lead in the second half with a 12-3 run, capped by back-to-back baskets from
PJay Smith Jr. and
Charles Johnston, with 12:13 to play. Samford mounted a late rally behind the shooting of Rylan Jones and Trey Fort to pull even at 65-65 on Lukas Walls' layup with 3:38 on the clock.
Ben VanderWal converted on 1-of-2 trips to the foul line to put the Paladins back in front and Anderson finished a pair of opportunities in the paint, the second coming with 1:49 remaining, to give Furman a 70-65 advantage. Walls' three-point play with under 30 seconds left trimmed the Paladin lead back to just two points before Bowser was fouled on a long pass up court against the press with under 13 seconds on the clock. The sophomore hit both free throw attempts to increase the lead to 72-68.
Josh Holloway rushed up the floor and converted a layup with 5.9 seconds left and the Bulldogs fouled Smith to send the senior to the line. Smith missed both free throws, but Fort's three-pointer from deep on the left wing as time expired caromed off the rim.
Furman shot 49.1% from the field to overcome a 7-for-24 effort behind the arc and 11-of-21 performance at the foul line. The Paladins outscored Samford 38-34 in the paint and 21-20 on points off turnovers.
Anderson connected on 9-of-13 shots, including 5-of-8 from three to score his 24 points while Bowser was perfect from the floor and 5-of-7 at the line to reach his career-high. VanderWal grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and dished out a career-best six assists for the Paladins.
Jones led the Bulldogs with 19 points and Fort finished with 12. Samford shot just 41.5% from the field. The Bulldogs hit 9-of-25 from three-point range and 7-of-9 shots at the foul line.
Furman will play its second straight game on CBS Sports Network when it faces ETSU in a 2 p.m. matchup on Sunday at Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tenn. Fans can listen to the action on The Fan Upstate at 97.7 FM and 1330 AM in Greenville, 97.1 FM and 1490 AM in Spartanburg, and via the Audacy app. Links for the broadcast, live audio, and live statistics are available at FurmanPaladins.com.
